Rescue Boat?

[rt11002003]

Last evening, just before the start of the Wed Nite sailboat races I spotted an overturned hull about 3/4 to a mile away. When I arrived, there were four people in the water and a race committee rescue/chase (open) boat standing by. None of the people in the water wanted to get out, said the water was warmer than the air, 15 knots, 70 degrees. Water temp???

Another power boat showed up from my sailing club, a center console, open boat. After more than 30 minutes, I advised the RC rescue boat that I felt those people in the water needed to come out. He then directed them to do so. They decided my closed cabin would be more comfortable than the open center console boat. The owner of the capsized sailboat decided to join the RC crew and wait for the commercial tow boat. The other three crew came aboard TUGLET via the swim ladder and swim platform. They were cold. 🙁 Shivering. All four of us fit in the cabin of my R21EC and that cold, wet crew really liked the heater. 😱

The tow boat took another hour to show up; they had to take a boat already under tow to the dock. We waited around because all the possessions of the four crew had been in the sailboat (unsecured) and they hoped to get the boat upright and retrieve them. They had no car keys, house keys, cell phones, VHF, wallets, etc. Darkness came as the towboat arrived, so no towing, or righting of the boat. We then went to the clubhouse where I left them with friends.

The sailboat boat was a 23 foot centerboard boat with a water ballast system (with no water in the ballast system) and no other internal or external ballast except crew weight.

I hope rescue work is an approved use of Ranger Tugs. 😀 It's an easy vessel to take on folks from the water and that warm cabin is nice.

Gene

 

[RDragon]

Great Job Gene! Thanks for sharing the story!

 

[Lone Star Ranger]

THREE CHEERS FOR GENE AND TUGLET...
HIP, HIP...HOORAY!!!
HIP, HIP...HOORAY!!!
HIP, HIP...HOORAY!!!

Great job Gene.

John

 

[wefings]

Nice work , Gene . Putting the "work" back in workboat styled boats !
Marc

 

[harryrezz]

Well done! As a part-time captain for Towboat US I can assure you that getting those people out of the water and into someplace warm was the RIGHT thing to do!

 

[rt11002003]

UPDATE: On the Sunday following the rescue incident, I decided to take my sailboat, a CS30, out for a short sail. Conditions were nice in the bay, 15 knots, or so. It was another story outside, way, way too much wind for a single hander without an autopilot. :shock: Lowered sails and returned to the dock under power. 😉

There were two couples looking at boats on our club docks when I returned. One of the women introduced herself; she was one of the folks that I took from the water that previous Wed. nite. She had her arm in a sling. Seems like she broke her collar bone and dislocated her shoulder in that capsize. Her boyfriend was with her and they both reported they were chilled that night and into the next day. She said her temp was 95 degrees at noon on Thursday. Both of them said they still didn't have their possesions from the capsized boat. They think everything went overboard into 130 feet of water. The capsized boat was finally recovered on Thursday.

Later, I took TUGLET out for awhile. It was blowing in the 20s with 2 to 3 foot waves spaced about four feet apart. It was actually a nice cruise, especially down wind. With those waves so close together I was able to easily get up on them and surf. Fun, fun. 😀

Gene